Best In-Car Interface?

[RicerX]

After watching a review on YouTube for the newly refreshed 2013 370Z, in which the reviewer for CNet described the Z's navigation interface as "old, tired, dated, but effective", I am curious as to other vehicle interfaces.

Ford's MyTouch system seems to have hit and miss reviews from what I've seen. In your opinion, what vehicles really hit the mark of having a good interface?

[Jesda]

Chrysler's U-Connect. It's simple and functional.

I've been acclimating myself to the latest version of iDrive over the last few days. I give BMW a strong C+. Huge improvement over the last decade but still not as intuitive as COMAND or others. I find myself using the steering wheel buttons and standard control knobs as they're easier to reach and more natural to use.

The Lexus "mouse" thing is kind of neat but I haven't spent more than a few seconds with it.

[frapjap]

The Lexus mouse is awesome. At the auto show in Boston, I asked it to find gentleman's clubs and parks. I then pinned them to the map for the rest of the patrons to enjoy.

[WDRacing]

Chrysler's U-Connect. It's simple and functional.

My wifeunit2000 has the new Dart with the U-connect and we both like it a lot. It has the perfect amount of knobs and switches combined with touch screen tech to be perfect imho.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Chrysler's U-Connect. It's simple and functional.

+1

I have it in my new Jeep and its great. Like WD said its the perfect balance of knob, button, and touchscreen. Some actions are achieveable through multiple buttons, so its not like you have to hunt down that ONE button or touch location to do what you want.

My fiance's Mazda 3 interface is GARBAGE. Every control is made via a few switches (yes switches) on the steering wheel. Its mind numbing.

[RicerX]

I will agree that the Mazda3's is complete garbage. They significantly revised the nav package for MY13 but I haven't seen or used it yet. That is really the only complaint I have about my Mazdaspeed3 is the entire center stack is a clusterf*ck.

[DJ_B_Easy]

^Totally forgot you had the speed3. Do you control the Nav through the up/down/left/right/push joystick on the right of the steering wheel? I DESPISE it. Waste so much time programming the thing your trip gets an extra 10 minutes tacked on.

[WDRacing]

That's funny, the NAV actually adds time to a trip.

[RicerX]

I drove one with the nav before I bought mine without the tech package. I couldn't justify $2000 for a 2 inch screen and LED tail lights. Base model speed3s get bose and streaming bluetooth audio so I didn't care for the other stuff. It's bad when the iPhone has a larger screen and has google maps.

I played with the nav for all of a minute and said F it. Apparently Mazda has been having that problem with the 3 because for '13 they moved the nav down to the center stack with 5.5" touch screen. Now it's worth the extra money at least for a screen you can see. Don't know what else they added to the tech pkg though.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Yeah thats essentially all it is. The Bluetooth stream works well actually. You know you can skip Pandora/Google Music/whatever tracks with the center rotary knob? Found that out on a road trip from FL to NJ when I was doing naughty things with my bare feet.

[Jesda]

^Totally forgot you had the speed3. Do you control the Nav through the up/down/left/right/push joystick on the right of the steering wheel? I DESPISE it. Waste so much time programming the thing your trip gets an extra 10 minutes tacked on.

That's exactly how the pop-up navigation was in my Volvo T5. The difference was that system was in a car from 2001.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Wow. 2001 Tech in a 2011. Guess thats why it was so cheap.

[MinisterofDOOM]

None. And I don't mean "no car has the best in-car interface." I mean no in-car interface is the best in car interface. Give me knobs, buttons, and levers. I love tech. I have tablets and smartphones and computers and consoles and I've owned pocket PCs and palm pilots and archaic PDAs. When I am in my car, I don't want that crap. I even struggle with automatic climate control (though in my LS it's not bad when all the parts are working). I want a lever for temperature. I want a lever for fan speed. I want buttons for AM/FM station memory. I want a volume knob. I want switches, buttons, levers and knobs. I do not want touchscreens or multifunction media interfaces or "mice" or "trackpads". When I'm driving, I want to drive. I might want some music and I don't want to be cold. I do not intend to have to FOCUS in the least to do anything not directly driving-related.

All of them suck. All of them are wrong. They're misguided and broken. The approach is backward. The idea should be to MINIMIZE the need for interaction with "interfaces." It should not be a centerpoint of ANY car, unless it's in the back seat and the car is a limousine.

[WDRacing]

You need to sit in the Dart Chris. It has knobs for everything, unless you want to use the touch screen. No knobs for NAV though, you need the screen for that.

[DJ_B_Easy]

I dont think the post is about the interface being a centerpoint. If someone bought a car based on the interface only then that man is an idiot. Fact of the matter is that cars come with creature comforts, some are more comforting than others?

What if I told you I can control EVERY aspect of the UConnect from my steering wheel, with the exception of entering a NEW nav address? Whether it be through mounted controls or a push button to activate voice recognition I can do everything without taking my eyes off the road or steering wheel. Is that a minimalistic enough interaction? Or are you saying we need to do out with Skynet all together and drive like its 1989?

[Jesda]

I dont think the post is about the interface being a centerpoint. If someone bought a car based on the interface only then that man is an idiot. Fact of the matter is that cars come with creature comforts, some are more comforting than others?

Sadly, "the touchscreen thingy" has taken precedence over the car itself in some cases.

Cadillac's new XTS emphasizes the laggy CUE system to make up for the car's awkward proportions and comparatively average performance.

[WDRacing]

I was going to mention the XTS for that reason. One the C5 pilots here at Dover has one, mentioned it wasn't what he expected. At which point I said...um...didn't you try it before you bought it? He chalked it up to him being a noob tech. At which point I said, that's the thing, when you're using a really good system, there is no such thing as being a noob.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Or are you saying we need to do out with Skynet all together and drive like its 1989?

I'm good with 1989, to be honest.


I just can't think of ANYTHING I've ever needed to do WHILE DRIVING that requires an "interface."

[DJ_B_Easy]

NEEDED, no. Nice to have, yes.

[Ace2cool]

NEEDED, no. Gets in the way and interferes with the driving experience, yes.

FTFY. I'm with MoD on this one. If I didn't have to replace literally everything under the dash, I'd want to convert my Z to manual CC.

[WDRacing]

Yeah...having a 8" screen for NAV gets "in the way". Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all full here.

[Razi]

"Oooo shiny, a screen" *crash*
-Aaron

[WDRacing]

I suppose it's a negative if you're an uncontrollable spaz.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah...having a 8" screen for NAV gets "in the way". Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all full here.

Bigger screens are good...easier visibility and more info at once. But touchscreens are TERRIBLE to use when you can't focus on what you're pressing. Even with vibration feedback (which is hard to do on a "hard-mounted" device) it's still tough to know what you're doing without looking. As long as their are dedicated controls alongside the touchscreen stuff, like you have in the Dart, I'm fine with it. But if I'm just going to use the dedicated controls, why should I care how good the interface is? I can understand being picky about navigation interfaces specifically. And modern media connectivity should have a decent interface to navigate folders/albums/genres/etc. But even media interface needs dedicated physical controls to be genuinely usable while driving. Parking to set GPS destination makes sense. Parking to switch playlists does not.

[WDRacing]

I agree totally, if I don't have knobs and buttons for climate and radio, I'm not happy. I can control everything from the steering wheel, but I still reach over and adjust the volume etc from the old knob. Same with fan speed...just too habitual to change.

[Ace2cool]

"Oooo shiny, a screen" *crash*
-Aaron

You seen't the screen I had in (now Jay's) car! All I used it for was ipod integration. I didn't even use the touchscreen. I mainly used the next track button.